


The Princess' Guard

by TorterraGarden



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-20 17:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16559912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TorterraGarden/pseuds/TorterraGarden
Summary: A closer look at Jade, master assassin and Kitana's closest confidant





	The Princess' Guard

**Author's Note:**

  * For [deadlylampshades](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadlylampshades/gifts), [minhyukwithagun](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=minhyukwithagun).



> This is for my dear friend Ayesha for her birthday, Mortal Kombat was what we initially bonded over and we share a mutual love for Jade. Happy birthday pal I love you and I hope you enjoy <3
> 
> Both usernames that this is gifted to are Ayesha lmao

It was Jade’s duty to guard Outworld’s princess, and she was fully devoted to the task.

Though Jade grew up in the castle, she knew she wasn’t royalty. She rarely even got a glimpse of the emperor or the princess, or any of their inner circle. Her parents had given her to Shao Kahn as a tribute when she was very young, too young to remember it. She had been raised among the castle workers, and almost as soon as she could walk and run she found weapons being forced into her hands. Her purpose was to serve the emperor as an assassin, she was told, and to take part in the Mortal Kombat tournaments that would happen every few centuries. That wasn’t so bad, Jade thought. It seemed that the fastest way to be honored and valued in Outworld was to be a warrior. If that was to be her purpose, well, she could do worse. 

She was made to train day and night, and it quickly became apparent that Jade had a natural talent for fighting and for stealth. Though she eventually came to favor the staff and boomerangs, she was proficient with every weapon she was given. She liked the staff and boomerangs for the range they offered her. The boomerangs were quick and silent and could decapitate a target from a long distance away. The staff allowed Jade to keep opponents from getting in too close, but could also contract so as to not get in the way if closer combat did become necessary. It suited Jade well.

She proved herself to be a good assassin. She carried out missions efficiently and with subtlety, and she soon rose through the ranks until she found herself in Shao Kahn’s inner circle. One day he pulled her aside to tell her that he had a new assignment for her: she would be Princess Kitana’s bodyguard. She would stand by her side, fight alongside her, and protect her from harm.

And one other thing. If Kitana’s loyalty to the emperor ever wavered, Jade was to kill her.

Why would Shao Kahn be worried about such a thing? The emperor seemed to have some secret that he was unwilling to share with Jade, but that he was worried Kitana might find out one day. It didn’t matter to Jade either way. That was another thing Shao Kahn liked about Jade, he said. She didn’t ask too many questions. She accepted the tasks given to her without complaint. Jade’s loyalty came from a sense of duty, not from emotional attachment, so what did it matter to her? 

From that day forward, Jade spent a lot more time with Kitana. They had never exchanged words with each other before, but Jade had of course seen the princess around the castle, and had seen her being trained with weapons as well. Kitana was as good a fighter as Jade was, so it seemed doubtful that she would ever need much protection. Kitana favored the bladed fans as her weapons, which to most was an odd choice. There were other weapons that were more practical, more useful, easier to handle, but Kitana insisted on using the fans. They were a good match for Kitana, Jade thought. The fans were as beautiful as they were sharp, as graceful as they deadly. Much like Kitana herself.

It was a good thing that Kitana was such a good fighter, because Jade thought her tongue could one day get her in trouble. Kitana was stubborn and prideful and very outspoken, which had made her a few enemies within the castle already. Kitana’s tendency to act on emotion and impulse stood in contrast to Jade’s pragmatism, but Jade found Kitana’s spirit very admirable, and Kitana needed a friend who could keep her grounded. And indeed they did become friends quickly. Jade was happy to side with Kitana when she mouthed off, and Kitana was willing to vouch for her if Jade ever stepped out of line herself. They soon developed a protective relationship with each other, and it sometimes was easy to forget which of them was supposed to be guarding the other. They were a team.

Jade found that she loved watching Kitana off the battlefield as much as on it. She caught herself staring at Kitana’s face, and how its contradictory features came together to make something extraordinarily beautiful. Her eyes were almond-shaped and a soft, warm brown beneath a strong brow and above high cheekbones; her lips were full and curved ever so slightly upward, and her jaw was sharp and square. Her black hair was long and usually tied back, though that never seemed to stop a few stray hairs from falling into her eyes. Kitana was small in stature, but lean and muscular. The full picture looked both delicate and hardened. She looked the part of a princess and an assassin equally.

In moments where Jade and Kitana were truly alone, when weapons were laid down and their fingers were free to intertwine with each other, that was when Jade felt that she and Kitana truly knew each other. Kitana would whisper to Jade about how she missed the mother she had never known, how she longed for her father to tell her anything about the queen Sindel. She would confide in Jade how she had ideas about who her mother might have been, how she wanted to imagine her mother as a diplomat rather than a warrior, how she wanted to believe that her mother had had a beautiful singing voice, how she wanted to think that her mother had died a noble death, and the only reason her father wouldn’t talk about it was because it was too painful, not because he was hiding some terrible secret.

Because Kitana did think he had a secret. When Jade asked her what she thought that secret might be, Kitana couldn’t say. She only said that her whole life, she had felt that there was something wrong about her existence in Outworld. Something was off. Something was supposed to be different.

Didn’t Jade feel it too? Kitana asked her, and Jade had no answer. Jade didn’t question the emperor’s commands. Jade didn’t question who her own parents were and why she had been given as a tribute to fight for a bloodthirsty emperor. Jade didn’t question the life she and Kitana had.

Jade didn’t question how she felt about Kitana. There was no denying it, but at the back of her mind she held Shao Kahn’s clandestine instructions. Should the princess’ loyalty ever waver, Jade was to kill her.

It was Jade’s duty to guard the princess, but it was also Jade’s duty to serve the emperor, no matter the task given to her.

But Jade and Kitana were bound by more than duty, and Jade knew that she was fully devoted to Kitana, as Kitana was to her. Jade hoped she would never have to choose between the emperor’s command and Kitana’s life. Jade knew what her choice would be.


End file.
